Complex composite assemblies may contain multiple detail parts that may or may not have the same or even similar thermal characteristics. The elevated temperature cure cycles that must be carried out on these assemblies may cause mis-alignment or mis-location of the assembled details. The relative movement of the detail parts due to thermal growth may be significant. Similarly, the tooling used to process these parts may be constructed of yet a different material with its own unique thermal characteristics. Some current methods for dealing with thermal differential issues, as far as the tooling is concerned, may be to use a tooling material that has the same or similar thermal properties, and/or, compensate for the expected size differential at the process temperature. These “compensation” factors may allow the tool to attain the desired size at the chosen temperature. One limitation of this method may be that it only applies at one specific temperature, unless the tool design/tool material, coincidentally, possesses the exact same thermal property, which is unlikely. This method may not maintain sameness between the tooling at the part assembly throughout the heat cycle. This may mean that there will be some relative, undesirable movement of the assembled pieces during the heat-up and cool-down portion of the cure cycle. Additionally, materials that may be considered as having the same thermal growth as a composite assembly might be considerably more expensive than other materials that would otherwise be sufficient.
An apparatus and/or method for curing a composite assembly is needed to decrease one or more problems associated with one or more of the existing apparatus and/or methods.